Canadian Government wants to help unemployed Canadians find careers as strippers and for-hire escorts

[Guest JamesWilson]

Things are starting to get a bit silly in Canada, folks!

The provincial government in Ontario (home of major cities Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, and London) is now asking Craigslist to cut the escort ads (as has now happened in the US)

Toronto Star - Ontario asks Craigslist to stop prostitution-related ads

But in a separate twist, the federal government (currently headed by the socially conservative Conservative Party) seems to have decided that strippers, escorts, and other such "morally offensive" careers should be included in the federal government's Job Bank (an online database of jobs that employers are looking to fill.)

Can things get any sillier? Hold on to your hats, folks! ;-)

Toronto Star - Conservatives say escorts good, prostitution bad

Conservatives say escorts good, prostitution bad

Toronto Star

Oct 13, 2010

Richard J. Brennan - Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA—The Conservative government wants to help unemployed Canadians find careers as strippers and for-hire escorts.

According to a draft Oct. 1 memo obtained by the Star, Ottawa has determined these careers once considered “morally offensive” should be put on the federal government’s Job Bank, which is also available for use by the provinces.

The surprise memo from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada has set a few tongues wagging among those wondering how these careers suddenly became respectable, and how Conservatives could allow this to happen.

“This is such a contradiction for the holier than thou family values gang to all of a sudden endorse an escort service as a legitimate occupation for unemployed Canadian women,” NDP MP Pat Martin said.

Terri-Jean Bedford, the dominatrix who went to court and got Canada’s prostitution laws thrown out, said these are legitimate occupations and “it’s high time that people stop being so judgmental about another person’s occupation.”

“There are a lot of unsavory occupations that I would never apply for. Soldier being one of them and politician probably being another,” Bedford said.

The job posting change is at odds with the Conservatives’ outrage over the recent federal court decision stating that Canada’s prostitution violated the Constitution. The government immediately appealed the decision, saying “prostitution is a problem that harms individuals and communities.”

“This is appalling activity by our government because what they are really doing is promoting the subjugation of woman for the most part,” Charles McVety, the president of Canadian Christian College, told the Star.

“It is also hypocritical that this would this would be done under a Conservative government,” he said.

The draft policy, which has yet to be implemented, stated that the following occupations will “be acceptable for posting on Job Bank”:

• Exotic dancer, erotic dancer, nude dancer, striptease dancer and table dancer.

• Escort, chat line agent, phone agent for personal services and telephone agent for personal services.

Many of these occupations in a 2003 memo from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRDC) were described as being “morally offensive by the majority of Canadians.”

It is not the first time that strippers have caused problems for the federal government of the day.

In 2004, the opposition called for then immigration minister Judy Sgro’s resignation over her office’s decision to extend a residence permit to a Romanian stripper, and Ottawa’s controversial program to allow foreign strippers to get special work visas.

“The Conservatives were all over that,” recalled McVety, “that’s why I’m a little incredulous that a Conservative government would do this.”

[Guest zipperzone]

The Conservative Party may consider strippers, nude dancers etc to be "morally offensive" but the fact remains that they are LEGAL occupations and as such should certainly be included in the job database.

Rather like the thinking that it is legal to produce and sell cigarettes but illegal to advertise them.

They really shouldn't expect to have it both ways.

[BiBottomBoy]

Blame Canada.